


Together

by Yatzstar



Series: The Mandalorian and His Child [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Chapter 4 Spoilers, Gen, Green Bean gets lonely, single dad doing his best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21614230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatzstar/pseuds/Yatzstar
Summary: The Mandalorian reminds the Child that they are together no matter what.
Relationships: The Mandalorian & Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: The Mandalorian and His Child [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565002
Comments: 42
Kudos: 1603
Collections: As Mentioned On PotsCast, The Best Parent Din Djarin Fics





	Together

They were back in the ship again, moving onwards towards a new planet. The Mandalorian wasn’t sure where they were going, but he had to keep the Child safe.

At the thought of the Child, the Mandalorian turned in his seat. Everything had been uncharacteristically quiet, which was mildly worrying. The Child sat on the floor of the cabin, not moving about as he normally seemed to do.

“Hey.”

The Child’s ears perked slightly at the sound of his voice, and the huge eyes turned to him.

“Something wrong?”

The Child chirped, but of course did not answer in words. After a moment, he went back to staring at the ball unscrewed from the console, but made no move to play with it.

The Mandalorian frowned. Something was up, but how could he know what it was?

“You hungry?”

An ear twitch, but no major reaction.

“Tired?”

Nothing.

His frown turned into a scowl. He was worried—more worried than he would care to admit—but he could see nothing wrong. The Child had not been injured, he was sure of that, and if not tired or hungry, he had no other insight.

Eventually he turned back to the console, trying to put the worry from his mind.

He was startled from a planetary search when something tugged on his pantleg. He looked down, and saw the Child standing by his seat.

“What?”

The Child chirped, and raised his arms towards him. The Mandalorian knew enough to know what that meant. With a grudging sigh, he lifted the Child onto his lap. He instantly snuggled into his chest, and the Mandalorian knew his planetary search was over for the time being.

He looked down at the Child. He had never been so…affectionate before. He had not complained to being held, but it had never willingly come to him. Unsure of what to do, he brought one hand up and stroked two fingers over the Child’s head. His ears, which had been drooping before, perked immediately, and the realization struck him.

The Child was lonely.

After being surrounded by children like him on Sorgan, he was now back to one person, who was admittedly not that much fun to be around.

“Are you lonely?” he asked, more to himself than the Child.

The Child shifted slightly, looking up at him with those eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he found himself saying. “It wasn’t safe for you there.”

The Child only squeezed closer. He felt a strange pang of guilt having taken the kid away from his friends, but it had to be done.

After a while, the Mandalorian felt the pull of sleep on his eyelids. He looked down at the Child once more and saw that he was asleep. As gently as possible, he deposited him into the other seat. He had done his best to make it into a bed after the bassinet was destroyed, though he had very little in the way of suitable material.

The Mandalorian was walking out of the room when a small whimper stopped him. He turned and saw the Child attempting to climb out of the chair.

“Hey, stop that.” He strode over and placed the Child back in his bed. When he gave the man a mournful look, the bounty hunter found himself explaining. “I have to sleep too, and there’s not enough room for us both.”

The Child’s ears drooped, but he made no move to leave the bed again. Satisfied, the Mandalorian left the room and turned out the lights behind him.

He washed himself in the refresher, removing the grime of the battle from himself and his armor. He made a mental note to get the kid in there sometime as well.

The ship’s bedding was little more than a metal shelf, but the Mandalorian had long since grown used to it. He switched out the lights and laid his head on his bundled up cloak, the feeling of fabric against his cheek foreign but soothing. He had not dared to sleep helmetless in the village, so sleeping without was a blessed privilege.

Sleep was just about to overcome him when a loud thump jerked him out of it. He was on his feet in a flash, one hand on his gun and the other grappling for the light switch.

The Child picked himself up off the floor, no worse for wear after falling while attempting to descend the ladder. Upon seeing the Mandalorian, he squeaked happily, his ears perking.

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” the bounty hunter growled.

The Child just squealed happily and smiled.

A horrid realization came over the Mandalorian. The Child was _looking at him without his helmet on._ A feeling of panic washed over him. No one had seen him since childhood. He was breaking the code.

The Child smiled as though nothing was wrong and came forward, tiny hands grabbing at his pantleg.

The Mandalorian stayed frozen, unsure of what to do. The kid did not seem to care about his helmet being missing. His racing thoughts slowed down. Surely it was not against the code if it were a young child in his care? He would not count it as breaking the code, he decided.

With a weary sigh, he sat down on the bed and gently lifted the Child up beside him.

“You really don’t want to be alone, do you?”

The Child climbed into his lap, standing up on his legs. The man put out a hand, steadying the Child so he wouldn’t fall. A tiny green hand reached out towards his face, and it took all his might not to flinch away. The hand, soft and gentle, brushed his cheek before drawing away.

“What was that for?” the Mandalorian asked, doing his best to look unperturbed.

The Child chirped, happily unaware that the face he had just touched had not been seen by another living thing for years.

“You’re more trouble than you look, _ad’ika_ ,” the bounty hunter grumbled. "Happy to see another face?"

The Child snuggled into his embrace, and he felt that strange warm feeling blossom in his chest. It had started when he first laid eyes on the kid, and continued to annoy him even now. The kid liked his face, and he didn't know why it made him feel that way.

“You can sleep with me if you’re really that lonely,” he said gruffly.

He laid down again, squished on his side with his back against the wall to allow enough room for the Child. The small creature nestled right under his chin, clinging to his armor with a tight grip. The Mandalorian noticed this and stroked the Child’s back.

“I won’t leave you alone, _ad’ika_. I know you miss them, but I’m still here. We’re still together.” The Child was lonely, but he could do his best to remedy that.

Eventually the Child’s grip lessened and his breathing evened out. The warm feeling persisted, and the Mandalorian had a feeling it would persist no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, and he gave in. The Child was as good as his now. He had seen his face.

As sleep threatened to take him too, he found himself recalling the old Mando’a saying.

“ _Ni kar'tayl gai sa'ad_ ,” he murmured. “I know your name as my Child.”


End file.
